[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7244 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7244

   To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to establish 
notice and review requirements for the removal of individuals from the 
   official list of eligible voters by reason other than a change of 
                   residence, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2008

   Mr. Holt introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to establish 
notice and review requirements for the removal of individuals from the 
   official list of eligible voters by reason other than a change of 
                   residence, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protection Against Wrongful Voter 
Purges Act''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE AND REVIEW REQUIREMENTS FOR REMOVAL OF INDIVIDUALS FROM 
              OFFICIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS BY REASON OTHER THAN 
              CHANGE OF RESIDENCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(j) Notice and Review Requirements For Removal of Individuals 
From List of Eligible Voters by Reason Other Than Change of 
Residence.--
            ``(1) Minimum notice prior to removal.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In addition to any other 
                requirements applicable under this section, a State may 
                not remove a registrant from the official list of 
                eligible voters for an election for Federal office by 
                reason other than death or a change of residence unless 
                the State provides the registrant with a notice of 
                removal meeting the requirements of subparagraph (B) 
                not later than 30 days before the date of the election.
                    ``(B) Requirements for notice.--The notice required 
                under this subparagraph shall be sent by forwardable 
                mail, and shall include the following:
                            ``(i) A statement that the State intends to 
                        remove the registrant from the official list of 
                        eligible voters for elections for Federal 
                        office.
                            ``(ii) A description of the reasons for 
                        removal, including (in the case of an 
                        individual proposed to be removed by reason of 
                        criminal conviction) sufficient identifying 
                        information on the criminal conviction alleged 
                        to be the basis for removal to enable the 
                        registrant to determine whether the registrant 
                        was convicted of the offense cited in the 
                        notice.
                            ``(iii) A statement that the registrant may 
                        obtain a review of the removal from an 
                        appropriate State election official in 
                        accordance with paragraph (2).
                            ``(iv) A postage pre-paid and pre-addressed 
                        envelope and a clear list of contact 
                        information for the appropriate State election 
                        official that includes a mailing address, 
                        telephone number, and fax number.
            ``(2) Review of decision to remove.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A registrant who receives a 
                notice of removal under paragraph (1) may submit a 
                written request to a designated State election official 
                to withdraw the notice and retain the registrant on the 
                official list of eligible voters, and may include in 
                the request such information and evidence as the 
                registrant considers appropriate to show that the 
                registrant is not subject to removal from the list 
                under State law, including information and evidence 
                showing that the registrant was not convicted of the 
                criminal offense cited in the notice or that the period 
                of ineligibility imposed as the result of a conviction 
                of a criminal offense has expired (in the case of an 
                individual proposed to be removed by reason of criminal 
                conviction).
                    ``(B) Response by state.--Not later than 10 days 
                after receiving a request from a registrant under 
                subparagraph (A), the State shall review the 
                information and evidence included and accept or reject 
                the request, and shall notify the registrant in writing 
                of its decision.
            ``(3) Special rules for removal by reason of death of 
        registrant.--In the case of an individual proposed to be 
        removed by reason of death--
                    ``(A) the notice of removal under paragraph (1) 
                shall be addressed to the occupant of the most recent 
                address of the registrant in the records of the 
                appropriate State election official;
                    ``(B) the notice shall include a statement that the 
                occupant should notify the appropriate State election 
                official immediately if the notice of the registrant's 
                death is in error;
                    ``(C) if the notice of removal was issued in error, 
                the registrant may submit a written request under 
                paragraph (2) to withdraw the notice and retain the 
                registrant on the official list of eligible voters; and
                    ``(D) if the registrant submits such a written 
                request, the State shall notify the registrant of the 
                decision made under paragraph (2)(B) with respect to 
                the request.
            ``(4) Opportunity to cast provisional ballot.--Any 
        registrant who receives a notice of removal under paragraph (1) 
        and believes that the removal decision was made in error shall 
        be permitted to cast a provisional ballot in an election for 
        Federal office in accordance with section 302(a) of the Help 
        America Vote Act of 2002, and the vote cast by such a ballot 
        shall be counted in the election (in accordance with the 
        standards and procedures of such section) if it is determined 
        that the removal decision was made in error.
            ``(5) No expansion of grounds for removal.--Nothing in this 
        subsection may be construed to require or authorize the 
        establishment of any grounds for the removal of a registrant 
        from the official list of eligible voters for an election for 
        Federal office which were not in effect prior to the enactment 
        of this subsection.''.
    (b) Adoption of Voluntary Guidance Regarding Audits of Computerized 
List.--Section 311 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15501) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Voluntary Guidance Regarding Audits of Computerized List.--
Not later than October 1, 2008, the Commission shall adopt voluntary 
guidance with respect to audits of the Statewide computerized voter 
registration list required to be maintained under section 303 so that 
each State will be able to ensure that the list reflects an accurate 
and complete count of all individuals who are validly registered to 
vote in elections for Federal office in the State and is secure against 
unauthorized uses.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) National voter registration act of 1993.--Section 8 of 
        the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-
        6) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by striking ``State 
                law,'' and inserting ``State law and consistent with 
                the requirements of subsection (j),'';
                    (B) in subsection (a)(4)(A), by striking the 
                semicolon at the end and inserting and ``, consistent 
                with the requirements of subsection (j);'';
                    (C) in the heading for subsection (d), by inserting 
                after ``Rolls'' the following: ``by Reason of Change of 
                Residence''; and
                    (D) in subsection (i)(2), by inserting after 
                ``subsection (d)(2)'' the following: ``and all persons 
                to whom notices described in subsection (j)''.
            (2) Help america vote act of 2002.--Section 303(a) of the 
        Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(A)(i), by striking ``and (e)'' 
                and inserting ``(e), and (j)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ``Safeguards'' 
                and inserting ``In addition to meeting the applicable 
                notice and review requirements of section 8 of the 
                National Voter Registration Act of 1993, safeguards''.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section or any amendment 
made by this section may be construed--
            (1) to affect the right of any individual to cast a 
        provisional ballot under section 302(a) of the Help America 
        Vote Act of 2002; or
            (2) to prohibit any State from providing individuals 
        threatened with removal from the official list of eligible 
        voters in the State with greater protections than those 
        required under section 8(j) of the National Voter Registration 
        Act of 1993 (as added by subsection (a)).
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office in November 2008 and each succeeding election for 
Federal office.

SEC. 3. CONTENTS AND TREATMENT OF VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS.

    (a) Opportunity To Correct Incomplete Forms.--Section 303(b)(4)(B) 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(4)(B)) is 
amended by striking ``to answer the question included on the mail voter 
registration form pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)'' and inserting ``to 
provide any information required on any voter registration form used by 
the State under section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993''.
    (b) Completed National Form Deemed Complete For All States.--
Section 303(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(5) Completed national form deemed complete for all 
        states.--
                    ``(A) Treatment of completed form.--If an applicant 
                for voter registration in a State submits a voter 
                registration application form which contains all of the 
                information required to be provided under the mail 
                voter registration form developed by the Commission 
                under section 9(a)(2) of the National Voter 
                Registration Act of 1993 (whether the form submitted by 
                the applicant is the form developed by the Commission 
                or another form developed and used by the State under 
                section 6(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
                1993), the State may not refuse to register the 
                applicant as a voter on the ground that the applicant 
                failed to complete the form.
                    ``(B) Presumption in favor of registration.--In 
                determining whether applicants meet the requirements 
                for registering to vote in elections for Federal office 
                in a State, State election officials shall act under 
                the presumption that applicants should be 
                registered.''.

SEC. 4. AVAILABILITY OF UPDATED INFORMATION FOR REGISTERED VOTERS.

    (a) Requiring States To Make Updated Information Available to 
Registered Voters.--Section 303(a)(1) of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
        subparagraphs:
                    ``(B) Availability of updated version of list 
                online and at polling places.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The appropriate State or 
                        local election official shall ensure that, at 
                        each polling place for an election for Federal 
                        office and on a public website of the election 
                        official of each registrar's jurisdiction, a 
                        list is available which shows--
                                    ``(I) all individuals registered to 
                                vote in that election at all polling 
                                places located in the registrar's 
                                jurisdiction, other than any individual 
                                who requests that the appropriate 
                                official exclude the individual's name 
                                from the list; and
                                    ``(II) for each such individual, 
                                the polling place at which the 
                                individual is registered.
                            ``(ii) Exclusion of addresses.--The list 
                        required to be made available under clause (i) 
                        may not contain the address of any individual.
                            ``(iii) Timing.--The appropriate election 
                        official shall make the list required to be 
                        made available under clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) available not later than 72 
                                hours after the applicable deadline 
                                under State law for registering to vote 
                                in elections for Federal office; or
                                    ``(II) in the case of a same-day 
                                registration State, available on a 
                                weekly basis during the 30-day period 
                                which ends on the date of the election.
                            ``(iv) Permitting individuals to opt out of 
                        inclusion in publicly-posted list.--If an 
                        individual requests that the appropriate 
                        election official exclude the individual's name 
                        from the publicly posted list under this 
                        subparagraph--
                                    ``(I) the official shall exclude 
                                information relating to the individual 
                                from the publicly-posted list; and
                                    ``(II) the official shall notify 
                                the individual in a private and 
                                confidential manner of the polling 
                                place to which the individual is 
                                assigned in accordance with the 
                                timetable provided for making the list 
                                available under clause (iii).
                            ``(v) Definitions.--In this subparagraph--
                                    ``(I) the term `registrar's 
                                jurisdiction' has the meaning given 
                                such term in section 8(j) of the 
                                National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
                                (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6(j)); and
                                    ``(II) the term `same-day 
                                registration State' means a State in 
                                which, under law that is in effect 
                                continuously on and after the date of 
                                the enactment of the Protection Against 
                                Wrongful Voter Purges Act, all voters 
                                in the State may register to vote at 
                                the polling place at the time of voting 
                                in a general election for Federal 
                                office.
                    ``(C) Notification of changes in assigned polling 
                place.--If an election official assigns an individual 
                to a polling place which is different than the polling 
                place at which the individual was registered to vote 
                under the most recently available version of the list 
                required to be made available under subparagraph 
                (B)(i), the official shall notify the individual of the 
                new polling place immediately upon making the 
                assignment.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 303(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
15481(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subparagraph (B)'' 
        and inserting ``subparagraph (C)''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated by subsection (a), 
        by striking ``requirement under subparagraph (A)'' and 
        inserting ``requirements under subparagraphs (A) and (B)''.

SEC. 5. NONAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN STATES.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to a 
State in which, under a State law in effect continuously on and after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, there is no voter registration 
requirement for individuals in the State with respect to elections for 
Federal office.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Section 303(d)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15483(d)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Each State'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in subparagraph (C), each 
        State'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``The provisions'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the 
        provisions''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Delayed effective date for certain 
                provisions.--To the extent that any provision of 
                subsection (b) was amended by the Protection Against 
                Wrongful Voter Purges Act, such provision shall apply 
                with respect to the next election for Federal office 
                held after November 2008 and each succeeding election 
                for Federal office.''.
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